A $25 alternative to pricey sit-stand desks

Do you find sitting at a desk a pain? Ryan Holmes, founder and CEO of Vancouver’s Hootsuite, shares your pain. Together with designers, he has launched Oristand — a cardboard, collapsible standup desk solution that won’t strain your back or bank account. At $25US, the Oristand is simple and more affordable than buying a sit/stand desk.

gshaw

Updated: January 13, 2016

Hootsuite founder Ryan Holmes has launched a new company Oristand to create a new kind of stand up desk accessible to all. Traditionally a stand-up desk costs upwards of $200USD. These portable cardboard desks will be priced at $25USD

Ryan Holmes, founder and CEO of Vancouver’s Hootsuite, shares your pain. Together with designers, he has launched Oristand — a cardboard, collapsible standup desk solution that won’t strain your back or bank account. At $25US, the Oristand is simple and more affordable than buying a sit/stand desk.

“The original idea came from Ryan Holmes,” said Oristand co-founder Steve Suchy. “He had a sore back and was looking for a solution and couldn’t find what he was looking for. So he did, in fact, start experimenting with boxes on his desk and ultimately that led to a very affordable cardboard standing desk.

“He gave me a call and we looked into trying to design a $25 desk that’s ergonomically correct and strong and easy to assemble.”

While Oristand may be reminiscent of that cardboard box solution you’ve hacked together to raise your computer high enough so you can stand to type, for its $25 US price tag, you get considerably more design expertise, and it folds flat so you can easily take to your next gig.

Suchy, who has a degree in architecture and works in architecture and interior furniture design, co-founded Vancouver-based Oristand with Holmes and Nathan Martell, a designer and founder of the multidisciplinary design office Martell Studio.

While the Oristand isn’t adjustable, Suchy said the three-person team made a number of prototypes, experimenting with the best solution that would fit a range of user heights from about five feet tall to six feet, with the Oristand sitting on a regular desk with a height of 20 to 30 inches.

“It is one size, so it may not fit everybody but it’s affordable enough that a lot of people at an average height can give it a chance,” he said.

It has two tiers, one for your laptop to put the screen at the best height for your head and neck, with a lower tier for a keyboard — so you’d want to have a separate wireless keyboard to use with your computer.

“It’s definitely better than sitting and it’s better than a lot of single level options,” said Suchy.

He said the team didn’t get input from ergonomic experts in the design but with the release of the Oristand, they hope to get feedback that will help in the design of future products.

“For patenting reasons, we had to keep the development quite quiet,” he said. “Since then we’ve been showing it around and we’ve had a fair bit of interest from occupational therapists saying that this is something that may interest them.

“Often they have clients that would benefit from using a standing desk but the initial entry of $200 and up can be a strain for a lot of people.”

Coincidentally, Oristand launched on the morning I was at physiotherapy for treatment of back pain from — what else — writing at a computer.

I use all kinds of makeshift solutions to stand up while I type and I’ve been thinking of shelling out for a stand up desk — a pricey alternative that can start at a few hundred dollars and go to the thousands.

“So,” I asked my physiotherapist as I pulled up a video of the new Oristand. “Should I try out this $25 solution first?”

Reaching over to stop me from sticking my head out like a chicken pointing at the computer screen, my physio Joanne McBrinn said while she can’t really comment on the Oristand since she hasn’t had a chance to test it out, the concept of a transportable and low-cost solution is a good one.

“It’s a great idea in that you haven’t committed to an expensive, fixed piece of equipment that only one person can use,” she said.

McBrinn said spending a lot of money doesn’t necessarily mean a device is better for you.

“The efficiency of an ergonomic device is not related to the cost,” she said. “There are many desks that are costly and people aren’t using them because of the expense.”

If you share a desk at work or you’re a telecommuter who only drops by the office occasionally, the Oristand is a relatively inexpensive way to adjust your desk height and it can be tucked under your desk if you want to sit for a while.

The Oristand is light and opens easily in a couple of seconds. It is made at the same factory near Seattle that makes shoe boxes for Nike. Ordering is online at Oristand.co, with the Oristand in black, natural or white and five-packs available for $100 US. Oristand also offers custom branding for companies that want to put their logos on the stand up desk.

“The most important thing about cardboard is that it has allowed us to create a kind of democratizing stand up desk that everybody can afford, both businesses and individuals,” said Suchy.

Recyclable cardboard, low cost, and nearby production were important factors in the first design from this newly launched company.

“We’re trying to create a product that’s good for your wallet, good for your back and for the planet,” said Suchy.

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